CHAPTER VI. THE LOST RECEIPT.

 "I can't understand this," said Mrs. Burton, beginning to be troubled. "My poor husband had made all arrangements for paying his interest on the day of his death. When he left the house, he spoke¹ of it. Do you mean to say he did not call at your office?"

 

If Aaron Wolverton had dared, he would have denied this, but Mr. Burton had been seen to enter the office, and so that he would not do him any good.

 

"He did call upon me, Mrs. Burton."

 

"And said nothing about the interest?"

 

"He said this, that he would pay me the coming week."

 

"He said that, when he had the money in his pocket?" said Mrs. Burton, incredulously.

 

"Of course I didn't know that he had the money with him. He probably thought of[Pg 52] another way in which he wanted to use a part or all of it."

 

"I don't believe it. He never mentioned any other use for it, and he was not owing any one except you. Mr. Wolverton, I don't like to say it, but I think he paid you the interest."

 

"Do you doubt my word?" demanded Wolverton, with assumed indignation.

 

"Suppose I say that you have forgotten it."

 

"I would not forget anything of that kind. You are very unjust, Mrs. Burton, but I will attribute that to your disappointment. Let me suggest one thing, however. If your husband had paid me, he would have been sure to take a receipt. If you have his wallet here—I happen to know that he was in the habit of carrying a wallet—and you doubt my word, examine the wallet and see if you can find the receipt."

 

Mrs. Burton thought this a good suggestion, and went up-stairs for the wallet. She opened it, but, as Wolverton had good reason to know would be the case, failed to find the important paper.[Pg 53]

 

"I can't find it," she said, as she re-entered the room.

 

"Did I not tell you so?" returned Wolverton, triumphantly². "Doesn't that settle it? Wasn't your husband a good enough business man to require a receipt for money paid?"

 

"Yes, yes," murmured the widow. "Mr. Wolverton, if you are right it arouses in my mind a terrible suspicion. Could my husband have been waylaid³, murdered, and robbed?"

 

"No, I don't think so. His death was evidently the result of accident—the upset of his team."

 

"What then became of the money—the hundred and fifty dollars which he carried with him?"

 

"There, my dear lady, you ask me a question which I cannot answer. I am as much in the dark as you are."

 

"If this story is true, then we are one hundred and fifty dollars poorer than we supposed. It will be bad news for Robert."

 

"It need not be bad news for you, Mrs. Burton," said Wolverton, in an insinuating⁴ tone,[Pg 54] shoving his chair a little nearer that occupied by the widow.

 

Mrs. Burton looked up in surprise.

 

"How can it fail to be bad news for me?" she asked. "A loss like that I cannot help feeling."

 

"Do you think I would be hard on you, Mrs. Burton?" asked Wolverton, in the same soft voice.

 

"If you are disposed to wait for the money, or relinquish⁵ a part under the circumstances, Robert and I will feel very grateful to you, Mr. Wolverton."

 

"I might, upon conditions," said the agent, furtively⁶ shoving his chair a little nearer.

 

"What conditions?" asked Mrs. Burton, suspiciously.

 

"I will tell you, if you won't be offended. Mrs. Burton—Mary—you can't have forgotten the early days in which I declared my love for you. I—I love you still. If you will only promise to marry me—after a while—all shall be easy with you. I am a rich man—richer than people think, and can surround you with luxuries. I will be a father to that boy of[Pg 55] yours, and try to like him for your sake. Only tell me that you will be mine!"

 

Mrs. Burton had been so filled with indignation that she let him run on, quite unable to command her voice sufficiently⁷ to stem the torrent⁸ of his words. As he concluded, she rose to her feet, her eyes flashing, and her voice tremulous with anger, and said: "Mr. Wolverton, are you aware that my poor husband has been dead but a month?"

 

"I am perfectly⁹ aware of it, Mary."

 

"Don't address me so familiarly, sir."

 

"Mrs. Burton, then, I am perfectly acquainted with that fact, and would not have spoken now, but I saw you were anxious about the future, and I wished to reassure¹⁰ you. Of course I wouldn't hurry you; I only meant to get some kind of an answer that I might depend upon."

 

"And you thought that, after loving such a man as Richard Burton, I would be satisfied to take such a man as you?" said the widow, with stinging sarcasm¹¹.

 

"Richard Burton was not an angel," said Wolverton, harshly, for his pride was touched[Pg 56] by the contempt which she made no effort to conceal¹².

 

"Don't dare to say anything against him!" said the widow, her eyes flashing ominously¹³.

 

"Well, then, he was an angel," said Wolverton, sulkily; "but he's dead, and you will need to look to another protector."

 

"My son will protect me," said Mrs. Burton, proudly.

 

"That boy?" said Wolverton, contemptuously. "But I make allowance for a mother's feelings. Once more, Mary, I make you the offer. Remember that I am a rich man, and can surround you with luxuries."

 

"I would rather live in a log house on a crust, than to marry you, Mr. Wolverton," she said, impetuously. "If you were the only man in the world, I would go unmarried to my grave rather than wed¹⁴ you!"

 

Wolverton rose, white with wrath¹⁵.

 

"You are tolerably explicit¹⁶, madam," he said. "I can't charge you with beating round the bush. But let me tell you, ma'am, that you have done the unwisest act of your life in making me your enemy."[Pg 57]

 

"I did not mean to make you an enemy," said Mrs. Burton, softening¹⁷. "I suppose I ought to acknowledge the compliment you have paid me, but I must decline, once for all, and request you never again to mention the subject."

 

Aaron Wolverton was not so easily appeased¹⁸.

 

"I do not care to stay any longer," he said. "You had better mention to your son about the interest."

 

Mrs. Burton had an opportunity to do this almost immediately, for Bob and Clip entered the house just as Wolverton was leaving it.

 

"What have you done to Mr. Wolverton, mother?" asked Bob. "He looked savage¹⁹ enough to bite my head off, and wouldn't even speak to me."

 

"Robert, I have some bad news to tell you. Mr. Wolverton tells me that your father didn't pay him the interest on the day of his death."

 

"I believe he tells a falsehood," said Bob, quickly.

 

"But he says, with some show of reason, if the interest was paid, why didn't your father take a receipt?"[Pg 58]

 

"Can no receipt be found?"

 

"No; I searched your father's wallet in vain."

 

"What is a receipt, missis?" asked Clip.

 

"It's a piece of paper with writing on it, Clip," said the widow, adjusting her explanations to Clip's intelligence.

 

"Golly! I saw de old man take a piece of paper from Massa Burton's pocket after he was dead—when he was a-lyin' on the ground."

 

"Say that again, Clip," said Bob, eagerly.

 

Clip repeated it, and answered several questions put to him by Mrs. Burton and Bob.

 

"It's all clear, mother," said Bob. "That old rascal²⁰ has got up a scheme to rob you. He thinks there isn't any proof of the payment. If he suspected that Clip had been a witness of his robbery he would have been more careful."

 

"What shall I do, Bob?"

 

"Wait a while. Let him show his hand, and then confront him with Clip's testimony²¹. I wonder if he destroyed the receipt?"

 

"Probably he did so."

 

"If he didn't, I may get it through Sam.[Pg 59] Don't be worried, mother. It'll all come out right."

 

One thing the widow did not venture to tell Bob—about Mr. Wolverton's matrimonial offer. It would have made him so angry that she feared he would act imprudently.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

3 waylaid   

v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I got waylaid on my way here. 我在来这里的路上遭到了拦路抢劫。
• He was waylaid by thieves. 他在路上被抢了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 insinuating   

adj.曲意巴结的，暗示的v.暗示( insinuate的现在分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入

参考例句：

• Are you insinuating that I' m telling a lie ? 你这是意味着我是在说谎吗？ 来自辞典例句
• He is extremely insinuating, but it's a vulgar nature. 他好奉承拍马，那是种庸俗的品格。 来自辞典例句

5 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

6 furtively   

adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地

参考例句：

• At this some of the others furtively exchanged significant glances. 听他这样说，有几个人心照不宣地彼此对望了一眼。
• Remembering my presence, he furtively dropped it under his chair. 后来想起我在，他便偷偷地把书丢在椅子下。

7 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

8 torrent   

n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发

参考例句：

• The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
• Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。

9 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

10 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

11 sarcasm   

n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic）

参考例句：

• His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
• She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。

12 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

13 ominously   

adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地

参考例句：

• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mammy shook her head ominously. 嬷嬷不祥地摇着头。 来自飘（部分）

14 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

15 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

16 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

17 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

18 appeased   

安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争）

参考例句：

• His hunger could only be appeased by his wife. 他的欲望只有他的妻子能满足。
• They are the more readily appeased. 他们比较容易和解。

19 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

20 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

21 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。